FOCUS-Violence erupts in Catholic area of Vietnam

12:51 a.m. Nov 10, 1997 Eastern
HANOI, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Thousands of Catholics and police clashed in southern Vietnam following protests over land rights and alleged corruption, officials and residents said on Monday.

They reported a number of injuries following the weekend's violence in Dong Nai province and said authorities had asked church officials to help restore calm.

A resident, who declined to be identified, said the troubles began on Friday when several hundred women began protesting outside the local government offices in Thong Nhat district, some 60 km (40 miles) northeast of Ho Chi Minh City.

Some of them were said to have stripped in protest. Others held banners saying ``down with people who steal land from farmers.''

They were joined by thousands of other residents on Saturday, prompting riot police to intervene, she said.

Unrest in Vietnam is rare. But the violence in Dong Nai follows recent trouble in a northern province where thousands of people have been protesting against corruption, prompting top-level concern.

The resident said that police vehicles were attacked and several officers were wounded. An elderly woman was taken unconscious to the district government headquarters suffering from head wounds. Her condition was not known.

A provincial official told Reuters that authorities had asked church officials to intervene to restore order and said a bishop, Nguyen Minh Nhat, had issued a statement calling for calm.

There was no indication on Monday that religious issues lay behind the unrest.

The area is home to Catholics who migrated from northern Vietnam when the country was divided in 1954 and others who came after the Vietnam War ended in 1975.

The situation on Monday was unclear. The provincial official said most of the protesters had dispersed, but added that ``some bad elements'' were continuing to cause trouble.